Safety shoes



June 23, 1959 s. A. (360D 2,891,329 SAFETY SHOES Filed July 10, 1957 United States. Patent SAFETY SHOES Stuart A. Good, Buffalo, N.Y. Application July 10, 1957, Serial No. 671,058

3 Claims. (CI. 36-72) This invention relates to metal inserts of the kind which are built into shoes to protect the feet of the wearers from injury due to objects falling on the same.

Inserts of this kind have heretofore been made of metal parts which extend over the toes of the feet, but the length of these devices was definitely limited because of the necessity for having the foot left free above the metatarsalphalangeal joints so as not to interfere with the normal flexing of the foot while walking. Consequently safety devices of this kind must be limited in length to about of the length of the distal phalanx of the great toe, so that devices of this kind only provide partial protection of the bones of the toes and no protection to the metatarsal bones nor to the joints between these bones and the toe bones.

It is an object of this invention to provide an insert for safety shoes which greatly extends the protection afforded to the front part of the foot and provides for free comfortable physiological walking. It is also an object of this invention to provide an insert for safety shoes which has upwardly extending flanges surrounding the front part of the foot and of a height at least equal to the height of the part of the foot which is between the flanges when in standing position, the top of the insert being left open so as to avoid interfering with walking. It is a further object of this invention to provide safety shoes including an insert incorporated in the interior of the shoe and having a sole plate and an upwardly extending flange formed integral with the sole plate and extending upwardly at least to the height of the part of the wearers foot at the portion thereof which is within said flange.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe having a safety insert embodying this invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the insert removed from the shoe.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a section thereof on line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal central sectional elevation thereof.

My improved safety insert may be applied and built into any type of shoe. 8 represents a shoe having an upper or vamp 9 which extends over and covers my improved insert which during the course of manufacture of the shoe is secured to the sole 10.

My improved insert includes a bottom or plantar sole plate 12 which extends longitudinally from the toe of the shoe and conforms to the last of the shoe tarsally and snperiorly well into the arch of the shoe. The sole plate may be nailed or otherwise attached to the inner face of the sole and may be covered with the usual inner-sole, if desired. This sole plate is provided with a flange 14 extending upwardly approximately at 90" from the front and lattcral edges of the sole plate for 2,891,329 Patented June' 23, 1959 2 a. distance greater than the thickness of the foot in the toes anddistal metatarsal areas; Accordingly; my improved insert extends under the forefoot and along the sides and front of the same. My improved insert does not have any shielding above the foot for the purpose of allowing normal natural movement of the foot during walking. The insert, however, protects and guards the foot from above by bridging falling objects on the flange of the bottom plate which extends at least as high or slightly higher than the part of the forefoot within the flange. I have found from experience with safety shoes as heretofore made and injuries to persons wearing the same that objects smaller than the width and length of the flanges of my improved insert and falling within the flanges are unlikely to be of suflicient mass and weight so as to cause injury to the foot, such for example, fracture of bones.

By eliminating any structure extending above the foot, I am able to extend the flanges rearwardly to a materially greater extent than has been possible with protecting devices as heretofore constructed. The flanges as well as the sole plate of my safety insert extend rearwardly beyond the metatersalphalangeal joints and preferably beyond the front ends of the metatarsal bones of the foot. The sole plate preferably extends rearwardly further than the flange, well into the arch of the shoe and therefore affords extended protection against sharp objects such as nails, prongs and knives which might pierce through the sole of the shoe. The lateral upright flange of the insert also protects the foot against the wheels of hand trucks running over the foot and avoid cutting of the foot by sharp objects such as axes when used by the wearer.

In order to add to the comfort of the wearer of the shoe, I preferably form the base plate of my insert in such a manner that it will be inclined upwardly both at the toe and arch of the foot to permit a rocker motion which assists in Walking.

The safety shoe and insert are constructed to permit comfortable walking as well as provideing greatly increased protection over safety shoes as heretofore made. The insert is built into a shoe and covered by the upper or vamp 9 of the shoe which is shaped to fit over the flange 14 of the insert. By forming the flange integral with the sole plate of the insert, each of these parts reinforces the other.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art, within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A one-piece metal insert for a safety shoe, said insert including a bottom plate formed to extend under the fore part only of a foot and having an integral flange extending upwardly from sides and front of said bottom plate to an extent at least equal to the greatest vertical dimension of all of the toes of the foot of the wearer of the shoe, said bottom and said flange extending rearwardly beyond the metatarsal-phalangeal joints of the wearer of the shoe, the portion of said insert between the upper edges of said flanges being open.

2. A rigid insert according to claim 1 in which said bottom plate is inclined upwardly toward its front and rear end portions.

3. A safety shoe having a rigid one-piece metal insert in the front portion thereof provided with a bottom plate positioned upon the sole of the shoe, and a flange formed integral with said bottom plate and extending upwardly from the front and side edge portions thereof to a height at least equal to the height of the toes of the foot of the wearer, said bottom plate extending from References Cited in'the file of this patent the front end of the toe portion of the shoe to the front UNI end of the arch portion thereof and said flange extend- TED STATES PATENTS ing rearwardly to at least the front portion of the 2,457,664 Harrison Dec. 28, 1948 metatarsus of the great toe, the portion of said insert 5 2,308,664 Frieder Oct. 8, 1957 between the upper edges of said flanges being open. 

